
WILD 

AMERICA 

Picture, Stri^ 

GEORGE F. MORSE 

AND 

DON NELSON 








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WILD ANIMALS of AMERICA 





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WILD ANIMALS of AMERICA 

IN PICTURE STRIP 

Bf it** 

GEORGE F;'MORSE 

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Author of 

My Life With Animals 

The Life of Baby Animals 

Former Director, Boston Zoo 

With drawings by 

DON NELSON 

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THOMAS S. ROCKWELL COMPANY 

CHICAGO, 1931 














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Copyright, 1931, by 

THOMAS S. ROCKWELL COMPANY 
Chicago 


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Printed in the United Stales of America 

MAY 22 1931 J 


©CIA 38369 J 




American Animals At Home 


A NYONE familiar with zoos knows the enthu- 
- siasm with which visitors—both grown-ups and 
children—view American animals. The interested 
and eager questions asked show that all too little is 
known of the native life and habits of these animals. 

Occasional visits to the zoo, or the infrequent news 
story of some animal mother’s efforts to protect her 
young do not tell the story, for these animals have inter¬ 
esting and sometimes amusing traits that cannot always 
be seen within the cage of the zoo. 

Knowing this absorbing interest in our wild animals 
and the delight with which children receive them, I have 
felt that a picture strip book accurately portraying little 
known but actual happenings in the life of some of 
the wild animals of America, would be welcomed. It 


has a value not only for amusement, but for the crea¬ 
tion of a greater respect for animals. As for the 
children, my talks to thousands of them at zoos and 
in our public schools lead me to feel confident of their 
interest and enjoyment. 

In order to bring these stories most vividly into the 
realm of the smaller child I have been careful to keep 
the vocabulary simple. This book contains no words 
that are not in the word lists and vocabularies of chil¬ 
dren six to seven years of age. Of course, it may be 
read to children much younger. 

The artist, Don Nelson, has brought to life in his 
drawings, the spirit that animates these animals in 
their native haunts, their habits, and their cunning. 

George F. Morse 



The Cowardly Puma 


On a warm spring eve¬ 
ning the puma sat on a 
ledge and called to her 
mate by uttering a pierc¬ 
ing scream like that of a 
woman or child in pain. 


They chose a cave up on 
the mountainside for a 
home, where they could 
raise their family and not 
be disturbed by hunters 
or other enemies. 


At night they hunted in 
different directions, and 
one would spend hours 
on a rock waiting for a 
deer to come within leap¬ 
ing distance. 










Creeps Into Pastures to Catch Sheep 


Sometimes the other 
puma would sneak down 
into the valley below and 
creep into the pastures to 
catch a nice fat sheep or 
a young calf. 


They were curious and 
often would slink along 
behind lone travelers at 
night, which makes some 
people believe that they 
are man-eaters. 


They were really cow¬ 
ardly, and whenever the 
traveler would turn and 
throw a stick at the puma, 
it would turn tail and run 
away as fast as it could. 










The Wise Mother Fox 


The mother fox lived in 
the side of a hill near a 
farm where hens ran loose 
in a field, but no matter 
how hungry she was, she 
never touched them. 


She knew the farmer 
would look for her home 
to trap her; so she would 
go to another farm where 
she crawled under the 
fence to kill hens. 


While she was gone a 
hunter set a trap at her 
den, but her keen nose 
warned her. She scratched 
sand all over it so it could 
not catch her. 



































Protects Herself and Her Babies 


She knew her family 
would not be safe, now 
the hunter had found her 
home. So she moved 
them, one by one, to an 
old burrow a mile away. 


One day some dogs chased 
her, and no matter what 
trick she used, such as 
running in a brook to 
destroy her scent, they 
kept on her track. 


She came to a leaning tree 
and ran up the trunk to 
hide in the branches. 
When the dogs arrived 
they could not find her 
and soon ran off. 










The Big Grimly Bear 


After his long winter's 
sleep the grizzly bear 
came out of his den and 
went in search of food, 
for he had not eaten any¬ 
thing for four months. 


On his way to his fav¬ 
orite feeding ground he 
met a small black bear, 
which at once got out of 
his way by climbing up 
the nearest tree. 


Then he met another 
grizzly, going to the same 
place, which angered him 
so that he growled a 
warning and then rushed 
at the newcomer. 














































Keeps His Feeding Place for Himself 


As they came together 
they reared up on their 
hind legs. He struck the 
strange bear a hard blow 
with his strong right paw, 
just like a boxer. 


That blow was enough. 
At once the stranger gave 
up and ran into the deep 
woods. The grizzly was 
left to dig up his roots 
and feed undisturbed. 


After eating he reared up 
and scratched the bark 
of a tree as high as he 
could reach, as if to warn 
other bears to stay away 
from his feeding place. 
































The Careful Mother Weasel 


In the winter the coats of 
the weasels were white, 
with a black tail-tip; so 
it was hard for an owl 
or hawk to see the wea¬ 
sels in the snow. 


But in the summer they 
were light brown with 
white stomachs and 
throats. They lived in a 
pile of stones at the edge 
of a pasture. 


When the babies were 
born, the mother weasel 
drove the father away, 
for she knew that he 
would kill and eat the 
little ones if he could. 
































Must Feed Her Growing Family Alone 


It was a task to feed her 
growing family, but every 
day she would catch a 
few field mice, or even 
surprise a ground bird on 
its nest. 


The father weasel started 
a rabbit from the thicket 
and chased it with long 
leaps. The rabbit could 
run five times as fast, but 
was too frightened. 


The weasel kept right on 
running and would have 
caught him, but a great 
hawk swooped down and 
carried the weasel away; 
so the rabbit was saved. 


















The Keerveyed Little Beavers 


In the spring a pair of 
beavers swam up a brook 
to a narrow place with 
a swamp beyond, where 
there were plenty of young 
poplar trees. 


This was a fine place for 
a home, with lots of ten¬ 
der poplar bark for food; 
so across the narrow spot 
they built a dam of mud 
and sticks. 


The dam held back the 
water until the swamp 
became a pond, and then 
they built a house in the 
middle of it where the 
water was deep. 

















































Give Warnings With Their Tails 


Next they started to save 
food for the winter. They 
cut down many small 
poplar trees with their 
sharp, chisel-like teeth, 
and cut off the branches. 


Their keen eyes and ears 
told them of danger, and 
they warned each other 
by slapping the water 
with their tails before 
diving out of sight. 


When danger was past, 
they carried the wood 
under water and worked 
it into the sides of the 
house to use for food 
when the pond was all ice. 







































The Great Buffalo Herds 


This great herd of buf¬ 
faloes was one of many 
that roamed this country 
between the Rocky Moun¬ 
tains in the west and the 
Alleghanies in the east. 


The herd was led by a 
large bull buffalo. He had 
become the leader after 
many hard-fought battles 
with other bulls which 
wanted his place. 


At some strange sight or 
sound they often stam¬ 
peded. Then all living 
things had to get out of 
their way or be crushed 
beneath their hoofs. 














Once Hunted Are Now Protected 


Their greatest enemies 
were the Indians, who 
shot them with bows and 
arrows to obtain meat for 
food, and skins for cloth¬ 
ing and covering tepees. 


Later the white men 
came, and with their rifles 
shot thousands of buffa¬ 
loes for their skins alone, 
leaving the bodies to 
spoil on the plains. 


It was then that the big 
buffalo led what few were 
left to an unknown val¬ 
ley and there remained 
until laws were passed to 
protect them. 















The 


The summer home of the 
gray squirrels was in a 
leafy nest in the topmost 
branches of an oak tree, 
and there the little gray 
squirrels were born. 



Little Gray Squirrels 


When the family was on 
the ground looking for 
food, either the father or 
the mother would sit on 
a limb, keeping a sharp 
lookout for danger. 


In the fall, when the nuts 
and acorns were nearly 
ripe, they cut many from 
the tree, letting them fall, 
which saved many trips 
up and down the tree. 




















Learn to Hide Acorns for Winter Food 


When there were enough 
on the ground they came 
down and buried them 
under the leaves in dif¬ 
ferent places that they 
might have winter food. 


Even when there was a 
foot or more of snow 
covering the ground, they 
could dig down and find 
the exact spot where the 
nuts had been buried. 


In the winter they lived 
in a hole in the tree, and 
would often dart into it 
to escape their enemies, 
such as a prowling fox 
or a swooping hawk. 

































The Strangedooking Porcupine 


The porcupine lived in a 
hole at the base of a 
large hemlock tree. He 
was a slow and dull- 
witted creature with only 
Nature to protect him. 


Every evening he came 
out and climbed a near-by 
tree where he made a 
meal on the tender bark. 
This bark-eating habit 
killed many of the trees. 


One day when he was 
walking through the 
woods in search of a new 
place to feed, he was spied 
by a young fox which had 
never seen a porcupine. 










Swishes His Prickly Tail 


As the fox came running 
toward him, the porcupine 
put his head between his 
legs, and then raised the 
sharp quills which covered 
his back and tail. 


He was such a strange- 
looking creature, the fox 
stopped to smell him. 
With a quick swish of his 
tail the porcupine struck 
the fox in the face. 


The quills were barbed 
like a fishhook and stuck 
in the fox's nose, and 
while he tried to paw them 
out, the porcupine wad¬ 
dled away to a near-by tree. 













The Muskrat and His Family 


The muskrats lived in a 
dome-shaped house made 
of mud and reeds, built in 
the center of a pond. The 
doorway of the house was 
under the water. 


They were always in dan¬ 
ger of being caught by a 
hungry mink. Or an owl 
might swoop down in the 
night and carry away one 
of the baby muskrats. 


Their skins were valuable; 
so the farmer boys tried 
to catch them by placing 
traps in the water, with a 
juicy apple hung on a stick 
to tempt them. 

















Live Safely Under the Ice 


But the muskrat wisely 
left the trap and went to 
a spot where he dug some 
mussel shells from the 
bottom and opened them 
with his long upper teeth. 


In the winter, when the 
pond was frozen over, 
they were fairly safe, and 
without fear could make 
trips out under the ice to 
get their food. 


Sometimes they would let 
out their breath in a great 
bubble against the ice, 
where it was freshened. 
Then they could breathe 
it in again. 





















The Father Moose Protects 


The moose family lived 
in the great north woods. 
They did not eat grass, but 
fed on fir balsam and 
alder twigs which grew all 
about them. 


When they ran through 
the woods the male held 
his head back, so that the 
branches would not catch 
on his great, wide, spread¬ 
ing antlers. 


They came to a muddy 
pond, and while the 
mother and baby moose 
lay down in the water to 
keep off the flies, the 
father moose stood guard. 




























His Family With Sharp Hoofs 


When they were hungry 
they would put their 
heads under the water and 
pull up the tender lily 
stems and roots, of which 
they were very fond. 


When the snow came they 
found a place with plenty 
of food, and made paths in 
the snow to get to it. There 
they stayed safely all win¬ 
ter with enough to eat. 


One day a pack of wolves 
tried to drive the young 
moose into the deep snow 
so they could kill him, but 
the father fought them off 
with his sharp hoofs. 





































































































